Looking for something to do on St. Patrick’s Day?

(continued from previous post)

Now that you’ve got a House of Nyla original to look fabulous in this weekend, why not visit the Dublin sims for some Celtic fun?

At 12:30pm SLT on March 16th, join us at Dublin for a St. Patrick’s Day virtual parade! METRO Virtual Fashion is putting out a float, featuring a model in a Nyla gown, posed on the runway.

The parade is just part of a weekend-long festival, so check out other events going on in Dublin as well

It was a lot of fun to work on a parade float, having never done one before, and the 30 prim limit was challenging! I’ve come up with something a little glamourous, and hopefully it’ll capture some of what the magazine is all about.

Hope to see you there!

To The Nines – Opening March 1st in the AM

The grand opening of LeeZu Baxter’s new sim, To The Nines, is tomorrow (Sat. March 1st, 10 am to 10 pm) and features a day packed full of fashionista goodies.

The morning’s entertainment is live music, at noon there’s a fashion show with new releases from LBD, dancing and more live music, and fireworks at 8:00 pm.

“Different Visions” is a photography exhibition (ongoing) at the sim with various interpretations of LeeZu Baxter’s creations. Metro Models is pleased to showcase the Fashion Revolution series from the next issue of METRO Virtual Fashion. Above is just one of the photos of the series, with Payton Heron modelling Coif Sushi hair, Stiletto Moody’s O-Wedge platforms, and the Revolution “Lola” outfit by LBD.

PhotoStage Launch Event + Photography Contest

Ananke Media Systems proudly announces the launch of PhotoStage, a revolutionary studio photography toolkit especially designed for the metaverse.

Please join us at spectacular Alexander Beach on 17th February 2008 at 12 noon SLT. A guided tour video will be shown, followed by a photo contest and the amazing music of Kromus Korobase.

During the photo contest you will be able to shoot our fabulous models and submit your photos to the judges. The winner will get a fully-functional PhotoStage, wall space at the unique NeAt trIcKs fREe GaLlErY to display their work, and a full spread on The Best of SL magazine.

Contact us for additional information at ananke.media.systems@gmail.com, and check out our website for the latest news and tips.

See you there!

Metro Models is pleased to have a couple of our models featured in the event, and we hope you can make it out to play around with this great product. We use the PhotoStage at our own studio for fashion shoots and love its ease of use and many features. As well, I’ll be judging the photography contest along with two other judges… good luck to everyone who enters, I can’t wait to see what you end up doing with the setup!

How to get the most out of a fashion event.

NEW SHOOTS II (feat. GHOST! and Aphrodite Creations) was held this past weekend, and I’m pleased to say we had great attendance (Sunday’s show filled the sim) and the models, hostesses, and live MC/DJs did a spectacular job. It’s thanks to the great team at Metro Models that our fashion events run so smoothly and appear so professional.

Any event attended by large numbers of avatars puts strain on the sim’s server, and lag is inevitable. It’s unfortunate when this happens during a fashion show, because the entire point is for the models to rez. The good news is, there’s ways to cut down on lag!

Much lag is actually client-side, meaning, it’s on your computer, not the server. By understanding a bit about how your graphics settings in Second Life work, and tweaking them a bit for the show, you can have a much more enjoyable event experience. I’ll show you the settings I tell the models backstage to use… load up your preferences (Edit > Preferences, or, Ctrl + P).

Under the General tab, change “Show Names” to “Never”. You can just change this back after the show… turn it off once you’ve had a look around at the glitterrati attending the event.

Under the Graphics tab, change your Draw Distance to 64. If the runway or stage area is further away, you may need to play with this a bit… the Metro stage, however, will be visible at 64.

Lots of things to change under Graphics Detail! Turn OFF Vertex Shaders. Turn OFF Ripple Water (you won’t need it for a fashion show!) I leave Bumpmapping and Shiny on because some accessories will use them. Change Avatar Rendering to Normal. Set your Lighting Detail to Sun and moon only (the stage is ideally orientated to look good under either forced Sunrise or Sunset.) Change Terrain Detail to Low. Lastly, move all the Mesh Detail sliders to a mid-point.

Now, under Advanced Graphics, change the Max. Particle Count to 0. This will get rid of ALL particle effects for Second Life, including mist, bling, poofers, fireworks, and the like. You’ll probably want to turn it back on after the show, so when you do, just increase the count to between 2,000 and 4,000. You won’t believe the amount of lag particles cause on your computer.

You can also do your part by attending the show with minimal attachments and accessories. You won’t need your AO because you’ll be sitting down in a chair to watch the show. You won’t need your facelight because you’ve turned off local lighting anyway. You should check on your hair, shoes, and any jewelry you’re wearing to see how many prims it is… to do this, right click on your attached item, select “Edit”, and under general info that comes up it will tell you how many objects, and how many primitives your item is (if that info doesn’t show up, click the “More” button). But keeping your outfit low-prim and low-lag doesn’t mean you have to look like a new player!

In this outfit, my only prims are in my shoes and hair. I’ve avoided sculpty prims because they take so long to rez, and I’m wearing a non-prim skirt. The dress is by Paper Couture, and they’re a great choice for low-prim style because of their high-quality texturing and use of the skirt layer. PC also draws a lot of their jewelry onto the outfit, so you don’t have to wear anything else to accessorize. Because I’ll be sitting down to watch the event, I’ve put on some tights under my skirt for modesty and a layered look. To match the lace trim on the tights, I added some lace fingerless gloves. My shoes are simple black wedge Mary Janes I’ve had in my inventory for ages, and the hair is a 40-prim fashion-forward style by Calla. Full credits below.

hair: Calla Narcissus in Black
skin: TaP Vivant Lustrous 3 in Buff
dress: Paper Couture Railway in Ocean
tights: OPIUM Everyday grey lace trim leggings (tinted dark blue)
shoes: JHD Mary Jane wedges
gloves: homemade fingerless lace gloves (bug me and I’ll send you a copy.)

New Shoots II – Alaska’s Picks

New Shoots II will feature the best in up-and-coming talent from virtual designers… I’m excited to show this fabulous stuff and want to give you a preview of what’s to come! The show is running Saturday Feb. 9th (tonight) at 7 PM SLT, and again Sunday Feb. 10th at 12 noon SLT.

GHOST!’s “Tip” dress is a couture gown with a hint of mystery and darkness. The razored fluffy skirt, striped gloves, and sequined top have excellent detail in the texturing. I also love how this fashion photo turned out, it’s one of my favourites with the high fashion pose and the model’s statuesque form. I found it suited the dress well. Model: Lalaine Lafontaine.

Aphrodite Creation’s “Vintish” pump comes in a variety of unique combinations of colour and texture. I just loved the retro feel of the round toe, stiletto heel, and alternating green and brown patent leather. These shoes add a touch of retro class to any outfit. Model: my own legs.

GHOST!’s Valle Dark dress is a true show-stopper of a gown with a long train of fabric and lace , asymmetrical top, and gathered fabric detail on the shoulder. We’re giving away 1 copy of this gown at tonight’s show and again at tomorrow’s. Sadly, I’m not eligible. Model: Gamp Lane

Aphrodite Creations’ Greyceful gown (shown here in “Noon”) is a lovely soft velvety textured dress with many ways to wear it. Here it’s shown with a black fur trim, scarf, and shorter skirt option. The colour is such a rich, emotive teal blue. Model: Kyra Nemeth.

That’s just a taste of what we’ll be showing at New Shoots II… we hope you can join us for the fashion show!

UNVEILING: A fashion show

Join us at the Metro Models stage on Saturday, January 12th at 12 noon SLT for the Unveiling fashion show.

The show will feature new releases and old favourites from OPIUM Everyday in anticipation of the new Le Zoo store opening on January 13th, 2008. Skins by SKIN 2.0 will be shown as well as hair by Calla.

After the show you’ll have the opportunity to buy the clothes shown before they go on sale to the general public the following day.

New Shoots II – Call for entries

NEW DESIGNERS: ENTER TO BE PART OF THE NEW SHOOTS SHOWCASE!

Second Life fashion designers under four months of age as of December 10, 2007, are invited to enter to become part of NEW SHOOTS II, a fashion showcase for up-and-coming talent.

NEW SHOOTS II will showcase up to 4 designers and up to 8 ensembles each. Accessories designers are welcome to apply!

You will receive:

• A showcase of up to 8 outfits modelled on the runway by top models
• A keepsake book/catalogue for show participants to leave with, including photos of your designs
• Vendor space (box with “sell contents” only!) during + after the show, with a total of 10 vendors

To apply, send a notecard to Alaska Metropolitan with the following:
1) Your avatar name
2) your birthdate in SL
3) your store brand/name
4) up to 5 photos of your products
5) a landmark to your store/mall location in SL (or a link if you only sell via shop.onrez or SLExchange)
6) a short paragraph detailing why you’d like to be part of a fashion show, what your inspirations are for your fashion, and what you see yourself doing in the future in Second Life.

GOOD LUCK!

Metro Models SHINE for charity

This lovely photograph was taken by Kyra Nemeth at the SHINE fashion show on December 21st. It features model veteran Queenie Extraordinaire in AnnaH Couture’s Kate gown. The SHINE show presented both fashions whose proceeds benefitted the SHINE fund, and special one-of-a-kind items that are part of a silent auction. After the show, models passed the one-of-a-kinds back to the designers, ensuring you are bidding on a truly unique item.

Celebrity Trollop has posted photos of the show on her Flickr feed.

Today we showed the stunning items that are to be auctioned off, as seen below in no particular order:

Alienbear Gupte’s beautiful Limited Edition Princess Christal set with full tiara and bracelets, modelled by Carissa Crimson. (Photo Kyra Nemeth)

MensPocky Kumaki models newcomer designer Triangle Caudron’s Baby! Star Shines Bright! gown, an instant favourite amongst the audience. (Photo Delilah Karas)

Oryx Tempel of International House of Style brings you a traditional Indian party dress with intricate detailing. Modelled by Nemi McCoy. (Photo Delilah Karas)

Serenity Mercier in PIN UP DOLLS‘ “Shine” mermaid dress with a lovely feminine bodice. (Photo Delilah Karas)

OPIUM’s “Midnight” haute couture gown modelled by Payton Heron. (Photo Alyse Perenti)

The amazing Tesla Miles‘ “Shine” boots on Serenity’s feet. (Photo Alyse Perenti)

Queenie’s stomach is encircled with the delicate Snowflake belt by Accessories by Eolande. (Photo Kyra Nemeth)

The silent auction will run until December 24th, at Midnight SLT. Until then, don’t miss this opportunity to own something uniquely beautiful that raises money for a great cause.

The fashion show will run once again on December 22nd at noon SLT. Hope to see you there!

Location of show and silent auction: Metro Event Stage

SHINE: Fashion Show + Fashion Auction

Metro Models is proud to present SHINE, a fashion show + benefit auction for Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders. Join us on December 21 & 22 for a fashion show of the beautiful limited edition items for the SHINE cause, followed by a showing of unique, one-of-a-kind couture that you can win at a silent auction after the show! The one-of-a-kind auction items will be passed back to the designer after the show, so you can bid knowing that you will be owning something truly unique and fabulous… and donating to a great cause at the same time!Show times: Friday December 21 at 7:00 PM SLTSaturday December 22 at 12:00 noon SLT Location: Metro Event Stage, Narcissus Island (203, 170)Auction Ends: Midnight SLT December 24, 2007 If you a designer interested in contributing with a one-of-a-kind item for the silent auction, please IM Alaska Metropolitan. The item must be finished by December 20, 2007. Thank you! 

SHINE – A Fashion Fundraiser

I’m happy to announce that Shine, a fashion fundraiser benefitting Medecins Sans Frontieres, has started! Watch for products from some of SL’s leading designers that benefit Shine, and donate where you see the donation boxes. You can also donate by paying the avatar Shine Dreamscape directly.

More information on Shine here: http://metromodels.slfashiononline.com/shine.html

You can find donation boxes at the Metro Models headquarters, OPIUM Everyday, SKIN 2.0, and OPIUM Addictive Fashion stores.

If you are a designer who would like to participate, please IM Alaska Metropolitan.